{"id":814,"date":"2017-10-20T22:00:34","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T22:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/max-drake.cc\/?p=814"},"modified":"2020-07-10T21:01:15","modified_gmt":"2020-07-10T21:01:15","slug":"openmaint-email-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/max-drake.cc\/?p=814","title":{"rendered":"OpenMAINT Email Part 1-Challenges on Server"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have tried to set up the email functionality in openMAINT on my VPS server.
\nSee bottom of page of free domains for email and for setting up an email server.<\/p>\n

Initially, in my happy ignorance I just filled in the email tab, adjusted the template for Maintenance Request report to initiator by adding in appropriate email addresses. Then fire up a Maintenance Request and when Helpdesk approved it, an email should be sent to advise that it has been approved.
\nWell, that didn’t happen.
\nIt seems that, in the CMDBuild Administrator Manual page 80 that you need to set up a task that triggers this action.<\/p>\n

Here is what CMDBuild have to say about emails<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of items on the CMDBuild Forum:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cmdbuild.org\/forum\/forum-in-english\/217204002<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cmdbuild.org\/forum\/forum-in-english\/718975918<\/p>\n

This is an article about email in Italian<\/strong>. Vincenzo Brienza seems to have gone into the issue in depth.  I used Google Translate<\/strong><\/a> to read his forum comments, but no reply from CMDBuild on this subject (Great forum when administrators do not reply or assist!<\/em>)<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cmdbuild.org\/en\/supporto\/forum<\/p>\n

Type in Email in the search, and about 9 items down you will get this one:<\/p>\n

Re: Task manager – Email – Invia email di notifica  Posted by Vincenzo Brienza at March 24. 2015
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The gist I get from the above is the translation below of part of Vincenzo’s writing on the forum:
\n“I did more tests and the problem seems to be that CMDBUILD does not make any calls to the SMTP server <\/strong>to send the notification email.<\/em>
\n To avoid any doubt, I installed a Postfix SMTP server on the same CMDBUILD server and configured the server address in the ‘SMTP Server’ field in the ‘Outbound’ section of the ‘Email \/ Account’ tab.<\/em>
\n IMAP access takes place correctly as seen from logs, and also processes moving email from one folder to another.<\/em>
\n I have enabled tracking on port 25 to track the sending of the notification email<\/em>
\n tcpdump -vv -x -X -s 1500 eto ‘port 25’<\/em>
\n but there is no need to run the task, even in the cmdbuil.log log<\/em>
\n there is an ‘executing actions’ that I imagine refers to the email notification I have configured in the task.<\/em>
\n The Postfix server is configured correctly because it can be used by the command line or through other email clients to forward emails (which are plotted in tcpdump).<\/em>
\n Not even from Postfix queues and logs is attempting to send an email from cmdbuild<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On my setup below I did not enable SSL or STARTTLS. I was trying to keep the system as open as possible to try and ensure that mail went through (in fact this can cause problems as gmail\/hotmail don’t like unprotected emails and tent to bounce them).<\/p>\n

So this is setting up the email setup.<\/p>\n

I use thunderbird and that tells you what ports are being used for Imap & outgoing.<\/p>\n

Actually, I set up Mail Enable on my VPS. The reason for this is that the email server is running on the same maxhine as openMAINT, so you can path to the Inbox, Sent box ect of the mail address and can check to see if the emails are where they are meant to be.<\/p>\n

This is also the reason I used Freenom. You can generate multiple email addresses for the domain and set them up on your server. You can test these externally (to your other accounts- to see that the emails are working), so you can take baby steps and test things along the way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I then modified one of the templates, the MR-Approval-ToRequester<\/p>\n

This is the initial one, after the requester has sent the Maintenance Request to Helpdesk. The Helpdesk needs to approve or deny the request. If Helpdesk approves then I was looking to that action triggering the email from Helpdesk to the requester. So I altered email addresses to suit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I used the CC:  to see if it would go externally. (It didn’t).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I also made sure that there were email addresses associated with the Guest and Helpdesk entities.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It seems that, in the CMDBuild Administrator Manual page 80 that you need to set up a task that triggers this action.<\/p>\n

So I started to explore tasks.<\/p>\n

If you download the administration manual HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then read from Pages 80 through to 97 about Task Manager.<\/p>\n

Here is the front page explaining what tasks do. Not very clear, but that is all we have to work on.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Well, I started building up some tasks in the email tab.<\/p>\n

I set up a number of tasks, from simple email in inbox activation to being activated when an action (eg OpenMAINT process of Helpdesk approving the Maintenance Request).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

BE CAREFUL when setting up the tasks, there are usually a number of pages associated with Tasks, so you need to click NEXT at the bottom of the page to move on to the next lot of information to fill out. For email tasks there are 4 pages, see below:\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h3>\n

After setting up the Email to do tasks, I also checked out Synchronous and Asynchronous , Process & Others\\Send Email. The results are in the screen shots below<\/p>\n

Synchronous Task<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Asynchronous Task<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Process Task\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Other\/Send Email Task\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

From prior reading before attempting to set up email I had a feeling that Tecnoteca were going to make it difficult, so I wasn’t disappointed. They really are not very helpful at all with the open source version at all.<\/p>\n

I have gone through the steps for setting up the email but am taking note of the issues posted by Vincenzo Brienza at March 24. 2015 . I am not sure if there are faults in the programming that CMDBUILD does not make any calls to the SMTP server. <\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Of all the tests I have done within openMAINT with emails they just disappear into hyperspace. I see no record of them in the email server directory, so I do not think they are even created.<\/p>\n

To date, I haven’t got the email setup operating in openMAINT, but I do have an email server up and running which is cool.<\/p>\n

Hopefully something will come up to allow me to get the email working in openMAINT, and if anyone out there is any further along I would appreciate some pointers.<\/p>\n

Good luck with your own installation, I hope you get further on than I have so far.<\/p>\n

Setting up Domains & Email Server on the VPS<\/h3>\n

To start off I used some free domain names from Freenom.<\/a><\/strong>
\nBe aware that the free domains end in .tk, .ml, .gq & .cl. So if your host provider cannot transfer these domains to your web host they may not be of much use to you.
\nYou can have the domains for free for 12 months, then they need to be renewed. The site says you can renew for free.
\nSo after getting your domains you need to be able to transfer them to your VPS.
\nI am with contabo and they allow for the transfer of those domains.
\nIn Freenom, once you have an account and have selected a domain that you like the name of you need to go to Manage Domain and go to Manage Freenom DNSv for the specific domain name you have entered. To set up the domain for use you have to set up three lines..<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This allows you to use emails with the domain name.<\/p>\n

The next part is to use a domain server on your VPS.<\/p>\n

For Emails I used Mail Enable.<\/h4>\n

The videos on you tube here are what I followed and I thought they explained things very well. I would follow Sachin Samy’s setup. It worked for me.<\/p>\n